Text Size

-

+

reset

Determined to avoid a repeat of Scott Brown’s 2010 upset, national Democrats are funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars into the Bay State. And President Barack Obama is visiting the state on Wednesday to boost Markey.

The Suffolk poll finds that Obama is viewed favorably by 60 percent of likely voters, with 35 percent viewing him unfavorably. His approval rating is 57 percent, down from 63 percent in a May poll.

Obama won the state by 23 points over Mitt Romney, the former governor, last November.

“Markey’s core ballot test number has fallen below 50 percent and recent Obama administration scandals, especially the Associated Press phone records scrutiny, have touched a nerve with likely voters who are holding back or no longer supporting Markey and President Obama with the same intensity,” David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston, said in a statement.

The second of three debates ahead of the June 25 election is on Tuesday night.

Suffolk surveyed 500 likely voters last Thursday through Sunday. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.4 percent.